Need a Hearth Pad

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MacinJosh

MacinJosh

Feeling the Heat
Mar 4, 2015
310
Crestwood, KY
Ok guys, need a hearth pad for my den. Flooring is laminate wood floor on top of concrete. There's a wooden baseboard too. Heath pad will be a corner style and go in the very corner there where the computer desk is behind the chair. The chair, desk, and plant rack will all go away.

So what's your favorite hearth pad? Been looking online at WoodlandDirect. They have some pretty nice ones for around $500 and they deliver. How big should I get? Can you get them custom made? I assume as long as the stove sits far enough away from that drywall to meet clearance I won't need any side/wall thermal protection correct? The stove manual says no floor thermal protection is needed, just combustible protection.

Any advice is always appreciated. Thanks!

[Hearth.com] Need a Hearth Pad
 
Cut out your wood floor, make a cardboard template with cardboard strips and a hot glue gun, take it to a granite shop and buy a remnant, Have them cut it or do it yourself with a $35 blade from Lowes. Save 3 or 4 hundred and depending on your taste have a killer hearth pad for cheap. Forgot to add a tube of silicone caulk.
 
I agree. Cut out the floor. I'd stain the concrete or tile it. So many nice tiles available for just a couple bucks a foot. Travertine, slate, porcelain. They'd all work and look great.
 
If you want to buy a hearthpad, try to find one locally. They are very heavy and can be costly to ship. If you want to build one, we can help. There are many threads in this forum on the topic. Or keep it simple and follow the above suggestions.
 
Mac;
I am in the process of installing a new Osburn 2400 in a corner in my basement as well. I looked at the specs for the stove and it told me the dimensions I had to be away from combustible surfaces. I pulled the carpet up exposing the concrete floor and then made a cardboard template of the stove per its dimensions. I laid the template on the floor and measured to the wall corners to get the required dimensions. I will say here that I purchased a required building permit and have to put the stove in per specs to not have a problem with my insurance.

I am doing my own tile work, having done tile work before but even if you never have, it is easy to learn how from a knowledgeable salesman or even better Youtube. Once my template was taped to the floor I then made lines as to how I would lay out my tiles. Even though my distances from the stove to my sheet rocked walls didn't require a wall tile I decided to anyway. I picked out some one foot square glass copper look tiles. Each individual piece is about one inch with all of them stuck to a backer material. All you do is stick it to the wall with mortar mix paying attention to keep it level and the lines aligned up. You let it dry and then spread grout mix on filling in the little cracks and clean it off per instructions. I made mine 4 ft by 4 ft on each back wall.

On the floor with the cardboard stove template taped down, I measured and marked the floor with colored pensils indicating each individual tile. These tiles are about a half inch thick and 17 x 17 inches, where the wall pieces were about 3/16 inch thick. After starting in the 90 degree corner of the back walls I started working out from the corner with the full tiles putting the mortar down. After I got 4 full tiles out (horizontally and vertically) and using a square to keep it all square, I marked 45 degree angles connecting the vertical and horizontal lines to make an angled front piece. Run a straight edge along these edges to mark your cut on these last two large tiles.

I wanted a little fancier look around the edges so I cut some tiles in quarters (4 x 17 inch) and made a bit of a decorative edge around the outside edges. I picked out the back wall glass tiles and the floor ceramic tiles at Home Depot as they had the best selection and I wanted to see how the colors looked together. I spent about $370 on all the tile, mortar, a couple of hand tools, the grout etc. I will have about 2 1/2 days into doing it all. I got the look I wanted and the floor and back wall all done for that price. You will need a tile saw. Either rent one or buy one at Harbor Freight. There really wasn't that many cuts to make.

I will be doing the final grouting tomorrow. My new stove will be here in about a week so I will then set it in place and mark out where on the wall I will exit out through the concrete basement wall and order the needed black pipe I need and the outside triple wall that goes up the outer wall above the roof. I am pretty comfortable doing a little carpentry, tile work etc. and enjoy building projects myself. If you are sort of like me (probably more proficient) give it a shot. If I can help in any way just let me know.

Pug
 
Fantastic write up Pug. Thanks for all the info! I haven't decided yet if I want to try to build the Hearth myself or just spend more money and order one. Probably depends on designs and which one the wife likes the best. Cheers!
 
MacinJosh said:
Ok guys, need a hearth pad for my den. Flooring is laminate wood floor on top of concrete. There's a wooden baseboard too. Heath pad will be a corner style and go in the very corner there where the computer desk is behind the chair. The chair, desk, and plant rack will all go away.

So what's your favorite hearth pad? Been looking online at WoodlandDirect. They have some pretty nice ones for around $500 and they deliver. How big should I get? Can you get them custom made? I assume as long as the stove sits far enough away from that drywall to meet clearance I won't need any side/wall thermal protection correct? The stove manual says no floor thermal protection is needed, just combustible protection.

Any advice is always appreciated. Thanks!

View attachment 174010
Click to expand...

If you can't or don't want to put one in by yourself take a look at this website. They have about anything you want.

http://www.woodlanddirect.com/Wood-Stove-and-Accessories/Corner-Hearth-Pads/?state=All
 
As was previously mentioned you are going to pay a ton more to add r-value where no addition is needed(concrete floor) if you order one, as well as brutal shipping.
 
So most of you would rather rip up the floor and do it yourself vs spending more for a pre-made hearth pad you can just slap down and call it done? I've never tiled before so there would be a learning curve for me. Not that I'm opposed to trying things. I mean hell, I'm going to be putting the stove and chimney in myself now. I guess I was just trying to avoid permanently tearing up the floor. ~shrugs~
 
And it sounds like I don't need any thermal/insulation protection for the floor, right? Just combustible protection (like if a hot amber falls out of the stove).
 
Ok guys, I've decided to just build my own pad. My dad is coming down this weekend to take some measurements. I want to put a BK King in and holy hell does that stove require a giant pad according to the instructions/clearances. I don't think I could even order a pre made one large enough. Anyway, sounds like bigger the pad the better anyway so you can store splits and other stuff off the floor. I kind of like the raised pad look. Anyone have a link on here for a how to? I presume 2 X 4's and then a layer of particle board on top and then hardibacker on top of that followed by the tile?

Do I need to remove the existing flooring (sounds like a pain) or can I just secure the 2 X 4's to the existing floor and into the concrete to keep the pad from shifting or moving? My initial thought is to have that entire corner padded out all the way to the sliding door.

Thanks for any tips or suggestions. Looking to start this project in the next two weeks.
 
Last edited:
T-roy_ said:
This is what I did...
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/hearth-pad-stove-and-chimney-install.154586/

I think you could leave the existing laminate flooring and build the hearth on top. Assuming you are building a raised pad.
Click to expand...

Wow, that is EXACTLY like what I'm trying to install T-Roy. I remember I ran across your thread a long time ago and couldn't find it.

I didn't quite understand your explanation on the floor joists under the plywood and the pattern/layout? Are they 2 X 6's that look similar to this?

[Hearth.com] Need a Hearth Pad

Obviously it needs to be strong enough to support a very heavy stove. I plan on getting the parlor style too so that is a lot of pounds per square inch on those 4 legs. :-/
 
I put my joists at 12" on center for the pad and made sure they were perpendicular to the joist that actually hold up the floor underneath. If you're worried about the weight maybe do 2 layers of 1/2" or 3/4" plywood under your cement board?
 
And stagger the seams.
 

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